


emotionally attached

by yaboiCelsius



Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Cleaning, Family Feels, Fluff, Friendship, Happy Ending, Humans Are Weird, M/M, Not Beta Read, One Big Happy Family, One Shot, Robots, Spoilers, cuteness, just for fun, sorry - Freeform, stabby, time jumps
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:15:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24171148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yaboiCelsius/pseuds/yaboiCelsius
Summary: There are several robots onboard the Discovery that clean. Most are built-in and come with the ship. The Discovery is the cutting edge on tech, and actually is the only ship besides The Enterprise that has built-in cleaning....So why do people still have personal cleaning bots? And how do they affect non-humans?
Relationships: Hugh Culber/Paul Stamets
Comments: 2
Kudos: 27





	emotionally attached

-Tilly-  
When she came onboard, she simply had to bring her cleaning robot called Lara. Saru did give her a weird look when he found out she had one, but for some reason did not choose to comment on it. Neither did Stamets when he found out.  
But when Michael came to live with her, things went a little different. 

“What. is. that?”  
“Uhm, Lara? My….cleaning...bot?”  
“Why do you have one? The ship cleans itself.”  
“I know, but i like Lara. She’s from my home when i was young. My mom needed help in the house, so we went to get a bot from a friend who built them, where i picked her and i got to keep her when I left, soo uhm, yeah…”  
“So you kept her around?”  
“Pretty much, yes..”  
“But why? It serves no value on the current ship, and if you need it on another ship, you could have it stored.”  
“Yes, i know, i know, but she reminds me of home, and my ambition and uhm, how proud young Sylvia would be of me, and i want to make her happy.”  
“So it serves emotional value?”  
“Yes! It’s nice to have a constant, and most humans need something to help them feel a bit better every once in a while.”  
“I think i understand. It is acceptable to have it-Lara in our quarters.”  
“Acceptable? haha! One day you’ll love her, mark my words!”  
“Highly unlikely.” 

-Hugh-  
“Ugh, really babe? Your bot is beeping again!”  
“First of all, his name is Arthur, and i must have done the new installment wrong.”  
“i don’t get why you just get a new one, with programs that are still being updated!”  
“Paul...can you, please fix him up?”  
“Honey, i’m busy.”  
“Babe, please? You know a lot more about his system than i do.”  
“Fine, but i can’t keep doing this forever.”  
“Thank you!”  
A kiss on the cheek. Paul supposes fixing up his boyfriend’s favorite bot is not the worst thing in the universe when he gets another glimpse of the happy face he makes. It truly makes his day, Paul thinks. 

-Saru-  
he never quite understood why the other crew members enjoy the company of these cleaning bots so much. But when he entered into Starfleet he felt like he needed to integrate. but it seems he did not understand humans enough. They suggested the name “Stabby” based off of an old human joke. On April fool’s day, his human friends attached a knife to the top. Not a sharp one, but a blade that could not hurt anyone. They might be irrational, but they are still responsible people.  
He looks up from his book as Stabby zooms across the room to pick up a fallen leaf from one of his plants. The name might have been a joke, but it stuck. 

-Paul-  
Hugh is dead. The realisation hits him again every couple of seconds. his knees feel like rubber, and the ground has never been so appealing. He sinks down against the wall. It feels like the only solid thing he can hold on to. His body is cold, and he keeps seeing Hugh’s face when he closes his eyes. His cheeks feel wet, and slowly his uniform is stained with tears.  
He nearly doesn’t realize Arthur has been coming closer until he is about half a meter away.  
“Hey buddy, i have to tell you something.”  
He gets no response, but he continues anyway.”  
“Hugh’s dead. He’s gone.”  
Not a sound.  
“My god, i’m losing my mind, talking to a bot.”  
A sad laugh escapes him, followed by a sob.  
Then he feels a bump against his leg.  
Arthur is next to him, almost snuggling up against him.  
Paul finds it strangely comforting. It feels familiar, like something will always be there to remind him of his love.  
More tears fill his eyes, and his sobs start to form in silent crying. His body has never been weaker, his mind is fogged, and only mourning floats to the surface. He finds himself petting Arthur, as his body gives up on keeping him awake and he falls into a dreamless sleep against the wall. 

-Michael-  
The last months have been exhausting. Hugh came back to life, but he is...different. Saru isn’t scared anymore. Tilly has been growing much closer to Michael. Ash turned out to be a Klingon and an unwilling traitor. Pike is their captain now, and so far Michael has been pretty confident that he will do a good job of bringing the crew together. She is swamped with emotion, even against her Vulcan upbringing and unwillingness.  
She sits down on her bed, and looks up. A new picture with Tilly is framed above her bed.  
This place begins to feel like home more and more each day. Even Lara has become a constant in her life, though she would not claim she exceptionally likes her.  
A bump against her foot. Lara.  
“Hello girl, is there something going on?”  
Instant humming followed by a beep.  
“Why am i talking to a bot? I must be going insane.”  
More buzzing sounds.  
“Yes, i suppose i have gotten quite attached to you.”  
Unexpectedly, the doors of their shared quarters open.  
“Are you talking to Lara? Finally! I promised you you’d get attached!”  
‘No! i am not attached. Just...i care.”  
“So you *are* attached!”  
Michael sighed, there was no way to convince Sylvia of her wrongs. Yet Michael feels that in a certain degree of certainty, Sylvia is right.  
“I suppose, yes, a bit.”  
“I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!”  
The smile Sylvia gets when she admits she is wrong, actually is a bit soothing after having  
to admit one is wrong, Michael supposes. 

-Saru-  
Stabby has been slowly getting less efficient and quick. The bot might fall apart soon. He really should get around to fixing that soon, Saru notes. he calmly hums a tune he doesn’t entirely recognise while trimming his plants. Maybe he can ask Michael to help him. They have gotten quite close recently. But that tends to happen when war ends. You celebrate together, you survive together, you receive rewards together, and go through hell and back together. And now they were back on Discovery. The future is always uncertain, but Saru feels like the family he has found can face them all.  
He carefully picks up Stabby, and makes his way down the hall to Michael’s room.  
When the door opens, Saru notes Michael also has a bot in her room, a model older than even his.  
“She belongs to Tilly.” Michael notes when she sees what her friend is looking at.  
“Well that is good to know. I was about to ask if you could help me fix my model, but perhaps Ensign Tilly is a better candidate.”  
“I’d be happy to take a look at it. You have come at the perfect time. We have long enough to find or replicate any parts that might need replacing, as we haven’t left yet.”  
“Thank you Michael.”  
Yes, this ship could be a close family indeed.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed! This is my second fic ever, and the first one I wrote in one go. please excuse any spelling mistakes, or commentary mistakes I have made so I can fix them! And comments are always appreciated.


End file.
